This invention relates to toys, and more particularly to interactive posable toys programmed to emit electronic sounds and produce motions in response to specific body positions.
Interactive posable toys have appeared for many years in a variety of forms, such as doll, toy figures, animal figures and fanciful characters, action figures and the such. Many of these toys produce various sophisticated sound effects such as simulated speech, music, animal and mechanical sounds. Generally, such devices require the use of some form of mechanical switch to stimulate the electronic production of sound. In most cases, the switch is mounted externally on the toy and must be literally turned on and off by the user. Other more sophisticated toys have been developed to incorporate the switch internally, and responsive to touch, such as petting or squeezing.
The more sophisticated toys, which incorporate internal mechanisms, also increase the level of interaction between the user and the toy. For instance, interactive toy babies may generate certain simulated speech such as laughing when squeezed, or crying until a bottle is placed in their mouth, and interactive toy animals may purr when petted or touched. However, these toys are still generally limited in their responses and level of interaction. For example, the ability for an interactive toy to role play different characters or produce various role playing response to various configurations of the toy is not known.
Often, when young children play, they imagine or pretend to be different characters, people, or things. For example, children will often extend their arms straight out from their bodies, pretending to be an airplane and generate sounds indicative of the same. Similarly, children may hold one of their hands straight up, pretending to be a police officer. As such, it would therefore be desirous to provide an interactive posable toy that when placed in certain positions or poses, emits responses indicative of the certain positions, such as an airplane, police officer, dog, race car driver, and etc.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided an interactive posable toy that when moved in various positions, emits and produces responses by way of sounds and/or motions indicative of such positions. For example, when the toy is placed in a prone position with its legs and arms extended outwardly from the toy, the toy emits sounds indicative of a dog or cat. In a second example, when placed in an upright position with its legs and arms extended outwardly directly in front of the toy, the toy emits sounds indicative of being a racecar driver, bus driver, or cowboy. Moreover, specific positions of the toy may also trigger electronically controlled motions that further increase the role-playing characteristics of the interactive toy.
More specifically, the toy includes a head pivotally attached to an upper torso. The upper torso is also pivotally attached to a mid-section, which is further pivotally attached to a lower torso. The arms and legs of the toy are pivotally and/or rotatably attached to the upper torso and lower torso via shoulder joints and hip joints, respectively. The toy further includes a motor coupled to a pair of cams, which when activated, laterally rocks the upper torso and tilts the mid-section relative to the lower torso. Positioned within each joint are means for triggering electronic sounds and motions responsive to specific positions of the arms and legs. A PC board, coupled to the triggering means, a power source, the motor and a speaker unit, receives responses from the triggering means and controls the motor to produce motion through the cams to the upper torso and mid-section. Moreover, the PC board also produces sounds through the speaker unit indicative of the specific positions of the arms and legs.
In another embodiment of the invention the shoulder joints includes a second means of triggering sounds and motion when the arms are extended substantially perpendicular from the torso. In yet another embodiment of the invention a gravity switch is included in the mid-section to provide a means of triggering sounds and motion when the torso is in the prone and upright configuration.
Numerous other advantages and features of the invention will become readily apparent from the following detailed description of the invention and the embodiments thereof, from the claims, and from the accompanying drawings.